Afghanistan's efforts to manage wildlife and environment
Panama declares national park in Canal Zone
Environmental institute in Africa
Five wildlife sanctuaries have been created by the Government of Afghanistan. It represents a move of international importance since some of the species of birds and animals involved are migratory and others are near extinction in this part of the world. The selection and decision to have these sanctuaries did not happen overnight.
In the early 1970s the Government sought assistance from FAO and the World Wildlife Fund to examine the wildlife situation and advise on how best to manage environment and species. Dr. Roland Petocz of Alaska went to Afghanistan as consultant for both organizations during this period and was responsible for surveying and planning the new sanctuaries. With the institution of the sanctuaries the project has now gone into its second phase, which is to assist the Government in implementing management plans.
The project will train Afghans in wildlife conservation techniques and aims to set up pilot management programmes in two of the sanctuaries. The first of these areas is the saline lake of Ab-i-Estada, situated at an elevation of 2 000 metres in Ghazni province, about 250 kms from Kabul. This lake supports a breeding population of UK, to 10 000 Greater Flamingos (Phoenicopterus ruber), and the most urgent need is to protect this colony against human disturbance and especially egg collecting. The area. is an important wintering area for wildfowl and is visited in spring and autumn by tens of thousands of ducks and waders migrating from the USSR to the Indian subcontinent. Among these migrants the entire western population of the Siberian Crane (Grus Leucogeranus), which numbers only about 40 individuals (out of a. world population of only about 300), visits Ab-i-Estada in autumn and spring en route from their wintering grounds at the Ghana sanctuary in India. The World Wildlife Fund has provided $25 000 for warden accommodation and research facilities at the lake and construction began in April 1979.
The second area chosen for management is the Ajar Valley in the Hindu Kush, 200 kms northwest of Kabul. The valley was previously a royal hunting reserve but now along with the surrounding mountains it will be given more comprehensive protection. The area has dramatic landscapes: the valley floor is at 2 400 metres but nearby peaks reach over 4 000 metres. Domestic animals have been excluded for many years and the vegetation has not been subject to the same degree of overgrazing as much of Afghanistan's rangelands. There is a healthy population of ibex (Capra ibex) and on a recent visit in mid winter I saw several hundred forced by snow to descend to the lower slopes of the mountains. A thicket of Salix sp. on the valley floor contains the only wild population of Bactrian deer (Cervus elephas bactrianus) outside the USSR (a few may still exist on the Afghan side of the River Amu Darya). The herd is derived from two animals introduced in 1953 and now numbers 42; they are readily seen by Visitors. A herd of feral yak lives in the sanctuary but unfortunately their numbers have been much reduced by poaching. I only saw 26 on a recent visit where 70 were recorded in 1978.
The aim of management of the Ajar Valley will be to provide facilities and information for visitors and to set up an ecological monitoring' programme to follow trends in the populations of large mammals and evaluate their interaction with the vegetation. The study of the vegetation could provide information applicable to the overexploited rangeland of the rest of Afghanistan. If wild animal populations build up to a level where they overexploit the vegetation then the scientific value of the sanctuary would be diminished. A tourist hunting programme is therefore being proposed so as to maintain populations within the carrying capacity of the area. The ibex provide fine trophies and considerable revenue will derive from the sale of permits.
Of the three remaining sanctuaries, two are wetland areas rich in water-fowl. One of these, Dashte Newar, is about 100 km west of Ab-i-Estada and is notable as being, at an elevation of 3 000 metres, the highest breeding place of Greater Flamingos in the world. Management policy will be similar to that for Ab-i-Estada and here also WWF are providing funds for warden and research facilities. The other area is a shallow lake in the suburbs of Kabul where a remarkable variety of birds can be seen. The lake has considerable potential for conservation education activities and provides a valuable recreational area for the people of the capita!!.
The final area, in absolute contrast, lies at 5 000 metres and above in the Pamir mountains in the Wakhan Corridor. It is the home of the "Marco Polo" sheep (Ovis ammon poli), and the Siberian ibex (Capra ibex sibericus). A rugged and innaccessible area, it has the potential to be an outstanding national park. At present the Afghan Tourist Organization organizes hunting expeditions for overseas visitors. A permit for a "Marco Polo" sheep costs US$12 000 and only 16 are issued each year.
The establishment of these five sanctuaries is a valuable start in the struggle to conserve wildlife and wild places in Afghanistan. The next stage will be to conduct an inventory of wildlife resources as a basis for a national strategy for conservation. The long-term aim of this strategy will be to conserve not only outstanding or unique areas but also representative examples of all the ecosystems of the country. It will also aim at producing greater environmental awareness among the people in the hope that conservation will be a factor in development planning.
J.A. SAYER
(Team Leader and Wildlife Ecologist, Wildlife Management Project, Kabul)
Panamanian President Aristides Royo recently declared the creation of the Parque National de la Libertad, an area of: 1011.5 hectares which includes one of the world's most accessible and best studied rain forests. The park, which contains the habitat of many rare and endangered species, is also important from an economic perspective in that it will help protect against siltation of the canal. Conservationists applauded the President's action as a demonstration of Panama's commitment to come to grips with the problems of deforestation and soil erosion which threaten the Canal Zone watershed. As a protected area, the park will be part of a project which will take into account the ecology of the total watershed and seek to institute suitable land-use practices.
The newly founded Institute of Environmental Studies in Khartoum, Sudan, will be especially concerned with research into the most serious environmental problems of the continent. The spread of desertification is one of these. The Institute is affiliated with the 'Faculty of Science of Khartoum University.
